Business Digest: Payless Shoesource closing 4 Central Texas stores

Struggling retailer Payless Shoesource is closing about 400 “underperforming” stores nationwide after filing for bankruptcy this week. More than 50 of those stores are in Texas, including four in Central Texas, according to a list released Wednesday.

After the closings, Payless Shoesource will have about 4,000 locations nationwide, including several in Central Texas. Locations in the Austin area that remain open include ones at The Domain and Lakeline Mall.

BANKING

Capital One closing branches in Austin area

Capital One is continuing to close branches across Texas as it directs customers to use its online banking services and ATMs.

Several of the branches that have closed or are in the process of closing are in Central Texas, according to filings with the Office of the Comptroller of Currency, including:

11720 N. RM 620, Austin

221 E. Parmer Lane, Austin

7200 N. MoPac Blvd. (Loop 1), Austin

1801 E. 51st St., Austin

4409 Williams Drive, Georgetown

708 E. Austin St., Giddings

901 Louis Henna Blvd., Round Rock

6317 Bee Caves Road, Westlake

In the Austin-Round Rock metro area, Capital One ranked sixth in total deposits in 2016, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. It had $1.2 billion in deposits, giving it a 2.9 percent market share. Wells Fargo ranks first in the Austin-Round Rock metro area, with $8.2 billion in deposits and a 20 percent market share.

Capital One is either closing or has already closed banking centers include Beaumont, Corpus Christi, Fort Worth, Harlingen, Houston, McAllen, San Antonio, Texarkana and Tyler.

WALL STREET

U.S. stocks slide over Fed comments

NEW YORK — A big rally in U.S. stocks evaporated Wednesday as the Federal Reserve appeared to struggle with questions related to inflation and government policy and suggested it might start trimming its balance sheet later in the year.

Stocks had jumped early on after payroll processor ADP said private U.S. businesses added 263,000 jobs in March, which was more than analysts expected. The Dow Jones industrial average rose as much as 198 points, and the Nasdaq composite reached an all-time intraday high.

But stocks halted their advance after the Federal Reserve disclosed the minutes from its policy meeting last month. The minutes showed Fed officials discussing plans to reduce the Fed’s bond holdings and disagreeing over whether it would be safe to let inflation rise faster.

DETROIT — The U.S. government’s auto safety agency is reviewing a Ford Motor Co. recall of thousands of cars, SUVs and vans that can run low on coolant and potentially overheat and catch fire after the company proposed a remedy that doesn’t fix the coolant problem.

Ford notified the agency about the recall, which has caused 29 engine fires, in paperwork dated last week. The automaker said it would install a sensor that warns owners when coolant is low in the 1.6-Liter turbocharged engines. The sensor does not solve the underlying problem of vanishing coolant.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Tuesday it is reviewing the recall. “The agency will take appropriate action as necessary,” an agency spokeswoman said in a statement.

NHTSA could determine that the fix solves the fire problem, or it could open an investigation to see if more repairs are needed.

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